Composer Moacir Santos Dies

  I  

Brazilian composer and arranger Moacir Santos died in Pasadena, Calif., on Aug. 6. He was 80.

Santos began arranging on Brazilian radio in the 1950s and wrote the soundtrack to the popular film Amor No Pacifico (Love In The Pacific). He moved to the United States in 1967 and four recorded solo albums as well as various Hollywood sountracks. His career had been enjoying a revival since the U.S. release of Ouro Negro in 2004 and Choros & Alegria the following year, both of which are available on Adventure Music.

Santos recently won the Shell Music and Premio Tim Awards.



  • Courtesy_of_the_Ulmer_family.jpg

    To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.

  • Rodney_Holmes_Courtesy_Meinl.jpg

    A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.

  • DB26_Critics_Poll_Montage.jpg

    Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.

  • Abdhullah_Ibrahim_Detroit_Jazz_Festival_2022_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”

  • DB26_Joe_Lovano_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.


On Sale Now
August 2026
74th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll
Look Inside
Subscribe
Print | Digital | iPad